Mozambique

At the outset, allow me to join the previous speakers in congratulating Mr. Opertti most sincerely, on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. His election is indeed a recognition of his excellent qualities as an experienced and seasoned diplomat committed to the ideals of peace. As I congratulate him today, I am reminded of the excellent role played by Uruguay in assisting Mozambique to consolidate peace and stability. On behalf of my Government, and on my own behalf, I wish to seize this opportunity to express our heartfelt tribute to those young men who lost their lives in the search for peace in my country. Let me also pay well-deserved tribute for the excellent manner in which his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, discharged his duties as President of the General Assembly at its last session. I also wish to commend the Secretary-General for his continued devotion to peace and development worldwide. His recent initiatives in this regard deserve my Government?s full support, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with him. In my last address to this body, one year ago, I spoke of positive changes which had taken place in my country. I am pleased to reconfirm today that the people of Mozambique remain firm in their determination to undertake bold steps aimed at ensuring and further strengthening democracy, good governance and the rule of law. Within this context, the first municipal elections were held in June this year, thus consolidating the process initiated with the holding of the general elections four years ago. Preparations are currently under way for the forthcoming general elections, scheduled for 1999. The implementation of structural and economic reforms under the most severe circumstances over the last 11 years should be seen within this perspective. Mozambique is emerging step by step from the scourges of war and is gradually proving that, with hard work and 31 adequate international assistance, the country can and will be a valuable partner in the international market place. We believe that by concentrating on economic fundamentals — including low inflation rates, a stable currency and a transparent exchange-rate policy, stimulating private-sector growth and increasing foreign and domestic investment flows — our economy can achieve the desired results. These measures have enabled Mozambique to achieve a growth of 14 per cent in its gross domestic product last year, compared to a real average growth of about 6.6 per cent from 1991 to 1996. In addition, increased agricultural production, coupled with the privatization of over 900 Government-owned companies and the rehabilitation and restructuring of the main elements of infrastructure — such as roads, ports and railways — have significantly contributed to raising productivity and have played a critical role in achieving these encouraging economic results. The report of the Secretary-General on assistance to Mozambique, which I highly commend, provides a further account of the state of the Mozambican economy today. Moreover, the Governments of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, in close cooperation with the private sector, are taking aggressive steps towards regional integration. These include, inter alia, the launching of mega-projects, such as the Maputo Development Corridor, a joint initiative by the Governments of Mozambique and of South Africa; the $1.3 billion MOZAL aluminum smelter, recently announced by the London Metals Exchange, a multi-partnership investment; and the Libombo Spatial Development Initiative, involving Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. Notwithstanding these positive developments, we are still faced with acute problems whose solution is vital if the country is to maintain the needed stability. The most critical of these, without a doubt, is the debt burden, which continues to be the single most significant impediment to national development. My Government welcomes the decision taken in April this year by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with regard to the eligibility of Mozambique to debt relief within the framework of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative. We regard this Initiative as a recognition by the international community of my Government?s continued commitment to undertake sound political and economic reforms, and also of the suffering endured by our people throughout these years of the implementation of such measures. While representing a significant step in the right direction, the Initiative in its present form is not yet a definite solution to the debt problem. Further assistance by the international community, and the creditor community in particular, is required. We need to ensure the irreversibility of the positive developments, especially taking into account that even with current relief measures, poor countries, particularly the least developed countries, remain poor. We would therefore encourage the creditor and donor communities to continue to review and consider new relief measures, including the cancellation of official bilateral debt, in order to ensure that the affected countries can redirect their meagre resources to social programmes. As a matter of fact, the eleventh meeting of the Consultative Group for Mozambique is taking place tomorrow in Maputo. The holding of this meeting on Mozambican soil for the first time symbolizes the growing relationship between Mozambique and its partners, and my Government will do its utmost to ensure a successful outcome of the proceedings with the creditor community. Moreover, we are still confronted with the issue of the prevailing threat of anti-personnel landmines, which continue to disrupt the very existence of nations and peoples. For this reason, my Government has signed and ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. We did so as a recognition of the imperative need to find durable solutions to this issue. We warmly welcome the fortieth ratification, by Burkina Faso, which will enable the Convention to enter into force, and we hope other countries will do the same as soon as possible. In this regard, my Government offered to host in Maputo next year the first meeting of States parties to the Ottawa Convention, in accordance with article 11 of the Convention. It is our hope that the meeting will result in the adoption of meaningful recommendations to address in a comprehensive manner the issue of anti-personnel landmines, particularly international cooperation and assistance and other relevant issues envisaged by this important instrument of international humanitarian law. We are eager to welcome all of you to Maputo. 32 Let me take this opportunity to express my Government?s deep gratitude and appreciation to the pioneering role of Canada on this issue. It is my hope that all interested parties will take an active part in the deliberations within the framework of the draft resolution to be presented in the First Committee. Last April, the Secretary-General presented his report to the Security Council on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. We wish to commend him for his vision in preparing that report. The Secretary-General?s report represents a valuable contribution for a better understanding of African problems and offers concrete recommendations for durable solutions by the international community. All efforts should be deployed to ensure that that report does not follow the negative examples of other similarly important reports prepared by the United Nations before. I am particularly thankful for the recommendation that economic sanctions should be better targeted in order to prevent the unnecessary suffering of innocent people, as we have been witnessing over the years. The concept of peace-friendly structural adjustment programmes should be fully implemented in order to minimize the negative consequences of such programmes for the well-being of peoples. As outlined in these recommendations: conditionalities should not be antithetical to peace processes; donors should not cut off funds from weak governments which, in good faith, are making popularly supported efforts to implement peace agreements; aid should be focused on high-impact areas to reduce dependence; donors should strive to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their aid to Africa is spent in Africa; and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative should be expanded to benefit more African countries. These recommendations deserve our full support, and what is now required of us is to find the best ways and means of putting them into practice. I would also agree with the Secretary-General when he stresses that, without political will, Africa will remain behind, with nothing to offer to future generations. For these reasons, I wish to endorse the proposed holding of Security Council meetings at ministerial level on a biennial basis to assess efforts undertaken and actions needed in this regard. Moreover, the convening of the Security Council at summit level within five years to discuss the situation in Africa could not be more timely. Indeed, it is high time for the Council to devote the necessary attention to African problems if the international community is to ensure a better future for the African continent. Today as yesterday, globalization is a matter of fact. However, we cannot afford to leave vast segments of nations and peoples unattended and still confronting basic challenges such as famine, epidemic diseases and inadequate water distribution, among other challenges. As an African, I am certain that Africa is prepared to shoulder its responsibilities in this regard, so that together we will be able to work towards a common goal. The crisis which initially begun as an isolated case in the Asian economies has rapidly spread to virtually all continents. Its consequences have demonstrated that no country in this globalized economy is immune to the suffering of other nations. Adequate solutions lie in sustainable development based on partnership in development cooperation. The persistence of extreme poverty in developing countries, particularly in the least developed ones, will continue to represent a threat to the economies of developed countries. The new vision which appears to emerge from the Bretton Woods institutions, bringing together the United Nations and other partners in the solution of social problems, will contribute to addressing major challenges facing our countries today. I would like to take this opportunity to praise the two-day high-level meetings of the General Assembly held a few days ago on renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international cooperation for development through partnership and on the social and economic impact of globalization and interdependence and their policy implications. The meetings demonstrated the need to bring together governments, the private sector and other relevant segments of civil society in the search for solutions to global problems. We therefore hope that the ongoing reform of the United Nations will open new windows for the Organization to strengthen its role and functions in the promotion of international cooperation for the social and economic development of developing countries. As has been emphasized, the United Nations, by virtue of its universal membership, is the most credible instrument for performing development tasks. Regional conflicts continue to be a major concern on the agenda of the United Nations. Despite the recent signing of understandings at Victoria Falls, the hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue unabated. We are deeply concerned by the course of 33 events, which threatens not only the territorial integrity of that country but also peace and stability in the Great Lakes region as a whole. We believe that with good will there can be a solution addressing the concerns of all parties involved in this conflict. Neither Africa nor the international community can afford to add a new chapter of conflicts of regional proportions, especially taking into account that virtually all other long-standing conflicts in that continent continue to defy our collective imagination. With respect to Angola, we are equally concerned with continued procrastination by Mr. Savimbi in the implementation of undertakings within the framework of the Lusaka Protocol and of relevant Security Council resolutions. It is, indeed, the failure of União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) to live up to its obligations which is leading the peace process in Angola to the brink of collapse. Both the international community and the parties concerned have an obligation to rescue the suffering people of Angola from the prospect of yet another conflict of major proportions. The attainment of peace in Angola would undoubtedly contribute to bringing about needed stability in the region. We are fully associated with the progress made by the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries and by the Economic Community of West African States in the search for the peace which has eluded Guinea-Bissau since the outbreak of hostilities in that country. These positive developments underline the importance of political will by the parties concerned, which should prevail in conflict situations. My Government is also encouraged by the developments concerning Western Sahara, and looks forward to the holding of the referendum in that Territory. It is our hope that wisdom and statesmanship will prevail, and that peace and stability will ultimately become a reality in Somalia, the Horn of Africa, the Sudan and other troubled regions of the African continent and beyond. We are encouraged by the recent developments concerning East Timor, as illustrated by the outcome of the most recent meeting, held in New York, between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and of Portugal under the auspices of the Secretary-General. We wish to encourage them to pursue further these efforts with a view to finding a lasting and internationally acceptable solution to this issue. My Government has been following with keen interest the latest developments in the Middle East. We have good reason to be disappointed by the course of events since the last session of the General Assembly. Without a comprehensive and just solution to the question of Palestine, which is the core of the conflict in the Middle East, as well as respect for the legitimate interests of all peoples of the region, the prospects for a lasting peace remain in danger. In addition, the latest developments concerning nuclear proliferation in South Asia have added new elements of destabilization to the already volatile international security environment. The new arms race in that region constitutes a major setback in the international efforts aimed at ensuring peace, security and stability in that region and in the world at large. Rather than providing security guarantees for the countries concerned, the new reality has in fact exacerbated the tensions in the region. This session of the General Assembly takes place at an auspicious time for all the peoples of the world: 1998 will be recorded as the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through concrete actions the international community must honour those who have lost their lives in defence of human dignity during the 50 years of the existence of the Universal Declaration. Through concrete actions we must ensure that the horrors and uncertainties of the past and the continued violations of fundamental human rights are not repeated in the new millennium. We must devise appropriate strategies and find ways and means which will enable future generations to live in harmony, peace and development, and which will prevent the recurrence of the abuses of human dignity that have been witnessed throughout human history. It is only through such actions that we can ensure that the motto of “all human rights for all” is fully realized. As the Secretary-General once reminded us, human rights belong to no Government and are limited to no continent, for they are fundamental to humankind itself. We in Mozambique look forward to the celebrations as a source of momentum in educating ourselves about the scope and magnitude of human rights and fundamental freedoms, taking into account that the promotion and protection of these rights is essentially everyone?s responsibility. However, we recognize the primary responsibility of the State in ensuring the enjoyment of human rights by our citizens. My Government underscores the need to assert the integrated, interdependent and indivisible nature of all categories of rights, in which both political and civil rights, and 34 economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, are treated equally. The programme we have prepared, which will culminate in a major celebration on 10 December, is in conformity with these principles. The establishment in Rome last July of the International Criminal Court represents a remarkable contribution by mankind to the protection and promotion of human rights all over the world. In Rome we created an unprecedented comprehensive legal framework to safeguard human rights and bring to justice those responsible for the most heinous crimes ever witnessed by humanity, such as those committed in the recent cases of Rwanda and of the former Yugoslavia. Although we would have liked a Court with more far-reaching powers, we understand that the present statute adopted in Rome represents a very delicate and difficult compromise achieved through very long and painful negotiations. Efforts must be made to make possible the early entry into force of the statute of the Court. We must also explore all possible avenues offered by the statute to improve the functioning and competence of the Court. That course of action would undoubtedly provide better acceptance of the statute of the Court and would ultimately ensure its universality. Our success in tackling the human rights issue, sustainable development and conflict resolution as well as in finding consensus on the major issues within the framework of the ongoing process of reform of our Organization will greatly depend on the manner in which we can accommodate our individual and collective interests. Let us work together to ensure the attainment of these objectives, and to enable the United Nations to fulfil its obligations as we enter the new millennium.